Bob Dylan, noted singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the folk-acoustic tradition. Singer-songwriters often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano; both the compositions and the arrangements are written primarily as solo vehicles, with the material angled toward topical issues—sometimes political, sometimes introspective, sensitive, romantic, and confessional.

History[link]

Théodore Botrel

The concept of a singer-songwriter can actually be traced to ancient bardic culture, which has existed in various forms throughout the world.^{[citation needed]} Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument. After the invention of printing, songs would be written and performed by ballad sellers. Usually these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were constantly evolving. This developed into the singer-songwriting traditions of folk culture.

Traveling performers existed throughout Europe. Thus, the folklorist Anatole Le Braz gives a detailed account of one ballad singer, Yann Ar Minouz, who wrote and performed songs traveling through Brittany in the late nineteenth century and selling printed versions.^[1]

In large towns it was possible to make a living performing in public venues, and with the invention of phonographic recording, early singer-songwriters like Théodore Botrel and George M. Cohan became celebrities. Radio further added to their public recognition and appeal.

During the period from the 1940s through the 1960s and sparked by the American folk music revival young performers inspired by traditional folk music and groups like the Almanac Singers and The Weavers began writing and performing their own original material and creating their own musical arrangements.^[2]

North America, United Kingdom and Ireland[link]

Singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie

The term, "singer-songwriter" in North America can be traced back to singers who developed works in the blues and folk music style. Early to mid-20th century American singer-songwriters include Leadbelly,^[3] Jimmie Rodgers,^[4] Blind Lemon Jefferson,^[5] T-Bone Walker,^[6] Blind Willie McTell,^[7] Lightnin' Hopkins,^[8] Son House,^[9] and Robert Johnson,^[10][11] (Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Influence" in their first induction ceremony in 1986,^[12] he was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time ^[13]). In the 1940s and 50s Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger,^[14] along with Lee Hays and other members of The Weavers performed their mostly topical works (Seeger performed solo and as part of the Weavers) to an ever growing wider audience.^[15] These proto-singer-songwriters were less concerned than today's singer-songwriters with the unadulterated originality of their music and lyrics, and would lift parts from other songs and play covers without hesitation. The tradition of writing topical songs (songs regarding specific issues of the day, such as LeadBelly 's "Jim Crow Blues" or Guthrie's "Deportee") was established by this group of musicians. Singers like Seeger and Guthrie would attend rallies for labor unions, and so wrote many songs concerning the life of the working classes, and social protest; as did other folksingers like Josh White, Cisco Houston, Malvina Reynolds, Earl Robinson, Ewan MacColl, John Jacob Niles, and Doc Watson, while blues singers like Johnson and Hopkins wrote songs about their personal life experiences. This focus on social issues has greatly influenced the singer-songwriter genre. Additionally in the 1930s through the 1950s several jazz and blues singer-songwriters emerged like Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, and Nina Simone, as well as in the rock n' roll genre from which emerged influential singer-songwriters Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, Richie Valens and Paul Anka. In the country music field singer-songwriters like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, Billy Edd Wheeler, and others emerged from the 1940s through the 1960s, often writing compelling songs about love relationships and other subjects.

The first popular recognition of the singer-songwriter in English-speaking North America and Great Britain occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s when a series of blues, folk and country-influenced musicians rose to prominence and popularity. These singer-songwriters included Bob Dylan, Jackie DeShannon, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Wilson, Tom Waits, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Tom Rush, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, Jackson Browne, John Prine, Grace Slick, Dave Mason, Jim Croce, Roger McGuinn, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, David Crosby, Donovan, Stephen Stills, Randy Newman, Steve Goodman, Gordon Lightfoot, Paul Brady, Johnny Tillotson, Sylvia Tyson, Ian Tyson, Nick Drake, Tim Hardin, Laura Nyro, Carly Simon, John Fogerty, Eric Andersen, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Joan Armatrading, Emmylou Harris, Cat Stevens, Bruce Cockburn, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lou Reed, Gram Parsons, Nick Gravenites, Rick Nelson, Richard Fariña, Tuli Kupferberg^[16] Mark Spoelstra, Don Mclean, Patrick Sky, Mickey Newbury, Janis Ian, Dan Fogelberg, Dave Van Ronk, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, and Frank Zappa. People who had been primarily songwriters, notably Carole King, Townes Van Zandt and Neil Diamond, also began releasing work as performers. In contrast to the storytelling approach of most prior country and folk music, these performers typically wrote songs from a highly personal (often first-person), introspective point of view. The adjectives "confessional" and "sensitive" were often used (sometimes derisively) to describe this early singer-songwriter style.

While the members of rock bands of the era were not technically singer-songwriters as solo acts, many were singer-songwriters who created songs with other band members including Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, Elton John (with Bernie Taupin), Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Ian Anderson, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Peter Frampton and later Don Henley, Glenn Frey and many others like Eric Clapton found success as singer-songwriters in their later careers.

By the mid 1970s and early 1980s the original wave of singer-songwriters had largely been absorbed into a more general pop or soft rock format, but some new artists in the singer-songwriter tradition (including Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Mark Heard, Lucinda Williams, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Nicks, Cheryl Wheeler, Loudon Wainwright III, The Roches and Warren Zevon) continued to emerge, and in other cases rock and even punk rock artists such as Peter Case, Paul Collins and Paul Westerberg transitioned to careers as solo singer-songwriters.

In the late 1980s, the term was applied to a group of predominantly female U.S. artists, beginning with Suzanne Vega whose first album sold unexpectedly well, followed by the likes of Tracy Chapman, Nanci Griffith, k.d. lang, Shania Twain, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Joan Osborne, and Tori Amos, who found success first in the United Kingdom, then in her home market. In the early 1990s, female artists also began to emerge in new styles, including Courtney Love and PJ Harvey. Later in the mid-1990s, the term was revived again with the success of Mariah Carey, Kylie Minogue and Canada's Alanis Morissette and her breakthrough album Jagged Little Pill.

Also in the 1980s and 1990s, artists such as Bono, The Edge, Dave Matthews, Duncan Sheik and Elliott Smith borrowed from the singer-songwriter tradition to create new acoustic-based rock styles. In the 2000s, a quieter style emerged, with largely impressionistic lyrics, from artists such as Norah Jones, Conor Oberst, Sufjan Stevens, David Bazan, South San Gabriel, Iron & Wine, David Gray, Ray LaMontagne, Meg Hutchinson, Steve Millar, Jolie Holland, Richard Buckner, Jewel, Jack Savoretti, Richard Shindell, and John Gorka. Some started to branch out in new genres such as Kurt Cobain, Noel Gallagher and Eddie Vedder. Others used drugs as a mind-altering way to boost creativity; for example, Emil Amos of Holy Sons took drugs daily from age sixteen on, wrote over 1,000 songs, and landed a record contract with an indie label.^[17]

Recording on the professional-grade systems became affordable for individuals in the late 1990s. This created opportunities for people to independently record and sell their music. Such artists are known as "indies" because they release their records on independent, often self-owned record labels, or no label at all. Additionally the Internet has provided a means for indies to get their music heard by a wider audience. During the 2000s Amy Winehouse, Adele, Ellie Goulding, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga are amongst the newest generation of singer-songwriters to emerge.

Cantautori, the Italian tradition[link]

	Domenico Modugno "Nel blu dipinto di blu" (1958) noicon Modugno's "Volare" was the Billboard Hot 100 single of the year 1958.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Cantautori (Italian plural; the singular is cantautore) is the Italian expression corresponding to singer-songwriters in English. The word is a portmanteau of cantante (singer) and autore (writer).

Even if the first internationally renowned cantautore was Domenico Modugno with his song "Volare" in 1958, currently the most famous cantautore in Italy is Fabrizio De André.^{[citation needed]} His songs are still popular today. In his works he often told stories of marginalized and rebellious people. In Italy he is considered as a poet because of the quality of his lyrics.^[18]

Among the other best known are Lucio Battisti, Gino Paoli, Francesco Guccini, Roberto Vecchioni, Lucio Dalla, Francesco De Gregori, Claudio Lolli, Franco Battiato, Rino Gaetano, Ivan Graziani and Ivano Fossati.

Of the younger generation of artists, Samuele Bersani, Jovanotti, Carmen Consoli, Daniele Silvestri, Cristina Donà, Max Gazzè, Luciano Ligabue, Vinicio Capossela, and Zucchero have often been tagged as modern cantautori.

The Neapolitan cantautore Pino Daniele has often fused genres as diverse as R&B, pop, jazz, rock, fusion, blues and tarantella to produce a sound uniquely his own, with lyrics variously in Italian, Neapolitan, or English. Similarly Paolo Conte was often tagged as a cantautore, but was more into the jazz tradition.

In the 1980s Vasco Rossi was renowned for his "rock" music mixed with Italian melodies. He was nicknamed the "only Italian rockstar" (l'unica rockstar italiana).^[19]

The word has been borrowed into other languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan cantautor, French chantauteur, Maltese kantawtur, Romanian cantautor, and Slovenian kantavtor.

Latin traditions[link]

Beginning in the 1960s and following the Italian cantautori style of the 1950s (like the one of Domenico Modugno), many Latin American countries developed singer-songwriter traditions that adopted elements from various popular styles. The first such tradition was the mid-60s invention of nueva canción, which took hold in Andean countries like Chile, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia.

Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso

At around the same time, the Brazilian popular style bossa nova was evolving into a politically charged singer-songwriter tradition called Tropicalismo. Two performers, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso became two of the most famous people in all of Brazil through their work in Tropicalismo.

After World War II it was developed in Italy a very prolific singer-songwriter (in Italian cantautore) tradition, initially connected with the French school of the chansonniers, and lately developed very heterogeneously. Although the term cantautore normally implies consistent sociopolitical content in lyrics, noteworthy performers in a more inclusive singer-songwriter categorization are: Domenico Modugno, Luigi Tenco, Gino Paoli, Sergio Endrigo, Fabrizio De André, Francesco De Gregori, Antonello Venditti, Roberto Vecchioni, Ivano Fossati, Lucio Dalla, Francesco Guccini and Franco Battiato.

In neighbouring Malta, the main singer-songwriters are Walter Micallef, Manwel Mifsud and Vince Fabri. They all perform in Maltese.

Spain and Portugal have also had singer-songwriter traditions, which are sometimes said to have drawn on Latin elements. Spain is known for the Nova Cançó tradition — exemplified by Joan Manuel Serrat and Lluis Llach; the Portuguese folk/protest singer and songwriter José Afonso helped lead a revival of Portuguese folk culture, including a modernized, more socially-aware form of fado called nova canção. Following Portugal's Carnation Revolution of 1974, nova canção became more politicized and was known as canto livre. Another important Spain singer-songwriters are Joaquín Sabina, José Luis Perales and Luis Eduardo Aute .

In the latter part of the 1960s and into the 70s, socially and politically aware singer-songwriters like Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés emerged in Cuba, birthing a genre known as nueva trova. Trova as a genre has had broad influence across Latin America. In Mexico, for example, canción yucateca on the Yucatán Peninsula and trova serrana in the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca are both regional adaptations of trova. Today, Guatemalan Ricardo Arjona qualifies as Latin America's most commercially successful singer-songwriter. Although sociopolitical engagement is uneven in his oeuvre, some see Arjona's more engaged works as placing him in the tradition of the Italian cantautori.

In the mid-1970s, a singer-songwriter tradition called canto popular emerged in Uruguay.

With the influence of Tropicalismo, Traditional Samba and Bossa Nova, MPB (Música Popular Brasileira), or Brazilian Popular Music, became highly singer-songwriter based. For years solo artists would dominate Brazilian popular music with romantic cynicism alla Jobim or subliminal anti-government messages alla Chico Buarque. After the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil, Brazilian music became less politically and socially conscious. The censored Raul Seixas or the humorous spiritualist Jorge Ben were slowly obscured by funk carioca, axé music and Brazilian disco. In recent years, however, a new stock of socially conscious Brazilian singer-songwriters is beginning to break the almost strictly dance-music momentum that has reigned since the 1980s (see the 'Brazilian folk/folk-rock sub-article in Brazilian Music).

Soviet Union and Russia[link]

Soviet and Russian bard Bulat Okudzhava

Since the 1960s, those singers who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment have been known as "bards". The first songs traditionally referred to as bard songs are thought to be written in late 30s and early 40s, and the very existence of the genre is traditionally originated from the amateur activities of the Soviet intelligentsia, namely mass backpacking movement and the students' song movement of 1950s and 1960s. Many bards performed their songs in small groups of people using a Russian guitar, rarely if ever would they be accompanied by other musicians or singers. Though, bards using piano or accordion are also known. Those who became popular held modest concerts. The first nationwide-famous bards (starting their career in 1950s) are traditionally referred to as the First Five: Mikhail Ancharov, Alexander Gorodnitsky, Novella Matveyeva, Bulat Okudzhava, Yuri Vizbor. In 1960s they were joined by Victor Berkovsky, Yuliy Kim, Sergey Nikitin, etc.

In the course of 1970s the shift to the classical 6-string guitar took place, now a Russian guitar is a rare bird with the bards. In the same period the movement of KSP (Kluby Samodeyatelnoy Pesni – amateur song fan clubs) emerged, providing the bards with highly educated audience, and up to the end of 1980s being their key promotion engine. Bards were rarely permitted to record their music, partly given the political nature of many songs, partly due to their vague status in the strictly organised state-supported show business establishment of the USSR. As a result, bard tunes usually made their way around as folk lore, from mouth to mouth, or via the copying of amateur recordings (sometimes referred as magnitizdat) made at concerts, particularly those songs that were of political nature. Bard poetry differs from other poetry mainly in the fact that it is sung along with a simple guitar melody as opposed to being spoken. Another difference is that this form of poetry focuses less on style and more on meaning. This means that fewer stylistic devices are used, and the poetry often takes the form of narrative. What separates bard poetry from other songs is the fact that the music is far less important than the lyrics; chord progressions are often very simple and tend to repeat from one bard song to another. On the other hand, in the USSR the chief bard supporter was the state Union of Composers, and the main bard hater was the state Union of Writers. A far more obvious difference was the commerce-free nature of the genre: songs were written to be sung and not to be sold. The similar genre dominated by singers-songwriters is known as sung poetry in other Post-Soviet countries.

Bulgaria[link]

Singer-songwriters are popular in Bulgaria under the name "bards", or "poets with guitars". Their tradition is a mixture of traditional folk motifs, city folklore from the early 20th century and modern influences. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the Communist regime in the country started to tolerate the Bulgarian "bards", promoting the so called "political songs", performed usually by one-man bands. A national festival tradition was established, under the title "Alen Mak" (Red Poppy), a symbol with strong Communist meaning in Bulgaria. At the same time, there were some prominent underground figures which were against the official Communist Party line, such as Angel "Jendema" Angelov, Yavor "Yavkata" Rilov and Velizar "Valdes" Vankov. After the collapse of Communism in 1989 the singer-songwriters' tradition was re-established. Currently the Bulgarian "bards" enjoy several festivals (local and international) per year, namely the PoKi Festival (Poets with Guitars, Poetic Strings) in the town of Harmanli, the Bardfest in Lovech, the Sofia Evenings of Singer-Songwriters and others. Major figures in the Bulgarian tradition are Dimitar Taralezhkov,Angel "Jendema" Angelov,Yavor "Yavkata" Rilov, Velizar "Valdes" Vankov,Dimitar Dobrev, Andro Stubel,Branimir "Bunny" Stoykov,Dorothea Tabakova, Mihail Belchev, Assen Maslarski, Grisha Trifonov, Plamen Stavrev, Vladimir Levkov, Margarita Drumeva, Maria Batchvarova, Plamen Sivov, Krasimir Parvanov.

Romania[link]

Despite the communist isolation, the tradition of singer-songwriter in Romania flourished beginning with the end of the 1960s and it was put in the context of the folk music, with its three main styles in Romania: ethno folk, American-style folk and lyrical (cult) folk. The framework for many of these initiatives came under the form of Cenaclul Flacara, a series of mass cultural events with an inevitable ideological touch. Still, with the merit of supporting great opening initiatives: the appropriation of Western artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others from the Woodstock generation, the public performance of gospel-like music, the opening to big international issues (pop culture, accountability of the leadership, tension surging during the Cold War-with surprisingly neutral positions etc.). Overall, the Romanian folk, in general, could be marked as an underground cultural movement, somewhere between non-aligned and protest music.

Netherlands[link]

Ede Staal (Warffum) (1941–1986), was a Dutch singer-songwriter from the Northern province of Groningen who sang mainly in the Groninger dialect of Dutch.

Norway[link]

Maria Mena contemporary singer-songwriter.

Periodicals that include coverage of singer-songwriters[link]

• Rolling Stone, focus on music and popular culture
• Dirty Linen, focus on folk and world music.
• No Depression, focus on alternative country styles.
• Paste, eclectic music coverage.
• Pitchfork Media, focus on independent artists.
• Sing Out! focus on folk styles.
• Broadside focus on folk music, and folk-rock.

See also[link]

• List of singer-songwriters
• Protest songs in the United States
• Cantautori
• Swedish ballad tradition
• Composer
• Lyricist
• List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Alarik, Scott, Deep Community, (2003), Black Wolf Press. [1]
• Hoffman, Frank "The Singer-Songwriter Tradition", from Survey of American Popular Music (modified for the web by Robert Birkline)
• Knopfler, David, The Singer-Songwriter: Defining the Genre – Defining the Style
• DiMartino, Dave singer-songwriters: Pop Music's Performer-Composers from A to Zevon (1994), Billboard Books(web search required).
• Rodgers, Jeffrey P., The Complete Singer-Songwriter: A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording & Business, (2003) Backbeat Books(web search required).
• singer-songwriters of the Rock Era, (1996), Hal Leonard (sheet music)(web search required).
• Contemporary singer/songwriter at Allmusic

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

Josh Doyle is a British-American songwriter and musician who was the lead singer and guitarist for British punk-pop band Dum Dums. He disappeared after the break-up of Dum Dums in 2001, the band having released one album. He resurfaced in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 with a wife and daughter and a new "folktronica" sound on the independent The End Of Fear EP.

In 2009, Doyle released Values and Virtues EP independently funded by his fanbase. With the proceeds of those sales Doyle was able to tour the UK without a label or any sponsorship, testing a new way forward for artists who have fans but choose not to sign with a record label.

History[link]

Dum Dums[link]

Between 1998 and 2001, Dum Dums were among a handful of successful guitar bands amongst a glut of all singing, all dancing boy-bands and female pop starlets. While touring the "toilet" circuit^[1] (small clubs across the country such as "The Charlotte" in Leicester and "The Camden Monarch" in London) in the UK, they were signed to Wildstar by Ian McAndrew (Arctic Monkeys, Travis) and exploded across the radiowaves. Their first single 'Everything' hit the Official UK Top 20 and led to four UK hit singles from the first hit album, "It Goes Without Saying".

Doyle became a recognisable face in the UK music scene. The band grew in stature, selling out venues all over the UK including Shepherds Bush Empire in London. They were cover stars of national music magazines including Melody Maker, and due to their live reputation made new fans of Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols and John Entwistle of The Who. They were invited by Paul Weller (The Jam) to play Earls Court and by Robbie Williams to support him on 30 arena dates.

They played all the major festivals, sharing the stage with The Flaming Lips in Glastonbury, Supergrass at V2000 (the same day they supported Bon Jovi at Wembley Stadium) and a star studded line-up at Party in the Park for 250,000 at Hyde Park. They toured as headliners in Germany and Japan, hitting the Japanese charts with single "Everything", in 2001 signing to MCA in the US.

While recording the follow-up album, after the big US deal, the band span off into personal breakdown. Given a "write more 'pop' or get 'dropped' " ultimatum by the UK label, Doyle decided they had already strayed too much into 'pop' territory and quit the band. He watched as poppier, manufactured copies of his band sprung up such as Busted and McFly and dominated the music charts for the next couple of years, while he could not put his finger on a direction to pursue next. Depression descended and Doyle became reclusive, not leaving the house for days at a time.^{[citation needed]}

Solo[link]

In 2003, he and his wife sold and gave away all their personal belongings and moved from the UK to Nashville, Tennessee.

The next year saw him recording the "End Of Fear EP" with college student Sam Shacklock, one half of Intramural^[2] (the other half being Statistics frontman and Conor Oberst bandmate Denver Dalley). Doyle released the EP independently from his website, mailing each CD out by hand.

An underground US following developed quickly, and respected zines such as Absolute Punk^[3] "a stellar debut, 8/10" and Sound The Sirens "a therapeutic must-have" gave high ratings. Using only MySpace and physical CD mail order sales (no touring, no digital sales, no radio) Doyle slowly but surely sold out of the first run of the EP, with help from a remnant of Dum Dums fans and a growing contingent newly discovered fans from the US.

In 2006 he played rough acoustic demos of new material to rock producer Joe Baldridge (Beck, Family Force 5, Jewel), who agreed to produce his album without a record deal or management. At the same time, he also played his first solo shows in four years in Tennessee supporting Imogen Heap. His new songs impressed sufficiently to obtain international management from Showdown in the US (Creed, MUTEMATH, Paramore, Family Force 5) and Radius in the UK (Imogen Heap, Dum Dums).

In 2009, Doyle parted ways with Joe Baldridge and Showdown Management frustrated by the lack of time they had for his project and released Values and Virtues EP independently, funded by his fanbase.^[4] With the proceeds of those sales Doyle was able to tour the UK without a label or any sponsorship, testing a new way forward for artists who have fans but choose not to sign with a record label. Interview about his crowd funding project in Music Magazine^[5]

In 2010, Josh had his songs featured on ABC TV show The Unusuals and in promos for the ION Network over all the US cable networks. He used the licensing fees to fund a home studio and began his "Songs From The Nuclear War" project in 2011, which itself led to a Midwest US tour and a UK acoustic tour.

In 2012, Josh was a top ten finalist in the Guitar Center Singer Songwriter Contest and ultimate winner. The Grand prize of $10,000 cash, 3-song EP with Grammy Award-winning producer John Shanks, Studio time at Converse Rubber Tracks studio in NYC, Worldwide distribution from TuneCore including Free Album, Music Video and Global Songwriting Service was awarded to him. See his winning performance here:: http://www.guitarcenter.com/SingerSongWriter--Winner-g26380t0.gc

Solo discography[link]

• 2002 - The Barnroom Sessions
• 2004 - The End Of Fear
• 2009 - Values And Virtues
• 2011 - Songs From The Nuclear War (Volume One)
• 2011 - Songs From The Nuclear War (Volume Two)

External links[link]

• Official Josh Doyle Website
• Official Josh Doyle MySpace
• Josh's "great American novel in album form" MySpace
• "The End of Fear EP" on Allmusic
• "Josh Doyle on LyricWiki"

References[link]

Missy Higgins
Missy Higgins, Majestic Theater, Madison, Wisconsin, 10 July 2008
Background information
Birth name	Melissa Morrison Higgins
Born	(1983-08-19) 19 August 1983 (age 28)
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Alternative, Indie, Acoustic
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, piano, synthesiser, guitar, melodica, xylophone
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Eleven Reprise Warner Bros.
Website	missyhiggins.com
Notable instruments
Roland RD-700, Maton

Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983) is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Her No. 1 albums in Australia are The Sound of White (2004) and On a Clear Night (2007), and her Top Ten singles are "Scar", "The Special Two", "Steer" and "Where I Stood". From a musical family in Melbourne, she played piano by age six and sang at twelve. While boarding at Geelong Grammar School, she wrote a song for an assignment which was then entered into the national Unearthed radio competition for unsigned artists. Higgins won and signed recording contracts with Eleven and Warner Bros. After taking time off, backpacking in Europe, she recorded her first album The Sound of White, which was released in 2004. The album, and its first single, "Scar" both went to No. 1 on the relevant Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Charts. Its second single, "The Special Two", went to No. 2. Higgins was nominated for five ARIA Music Awards that year and won 'Best Pop Release' for "Scar". In 2005 she was nominated for seven more awards and won five. She won her seventh ARIA in 2007.

In 2006, Higgins wrote new material for her second album, and following a US tour she recorded On a Clear Night, which gave her another No. 1 single with "Steer". Higgins has conducted several well received Australian tours and performed at high-profile charity events WaveAid (2005) and Live Earth (2007). She has toured internationally and lived and worked in the United States for ten months in 2008. Her song "Where I Stood" has been used in television shows including Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Lipstick Jungle and So You Think You Can Dance while her song "Warm Whispers" was used in Ghost Whisperer. Her third album, The Ol' Razzle Dazzle, is due to be released in June 2012.

Alongside her music career, Higgins pursues interests in animal rights and the environment, endeavouring to make her tours carbon neutral. She is also the patron of One in Five, an Australian mental health charity. In 2007, following years of press speculation about her sexual orientation, she came out as bisexual, saying that she prefers interviewers to focus on her music. In 2010 she made her acting debut in feature Bran Nue Dae, and performed on the related soundtrack.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins was born 19 August 1983 in Melbourne, Victoria to Christopher Higgins, an English-Australian general practitioner, and Margaret (née Morrison), an Australian childcare centre operator.^[1][2] Her sister, Nicola is seven years older, and brother, David is six years older.^[2] She learned to play classical piano from age six, following in the footsteps of Christopher and David, but realised she wanted to be a singer at about 12 when she appeared in an Armadale Primary School production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.^[3] Bored with practice, she gave up playing piano at that time.^[4] Hoping for more freedom, she urged her parents to send her to Geelong Grammar School, an independent boarding school attended by her siblings. At Geelong she took up the piano again, this time playing jazz including performing with David's group on weekends.^[5] She was introverted and found that piano practice helped her cope with living at boarding school.^[4]

At 15, she wrote "All for Believing" for a school music assignment and completed it just hours before the deadline.^[6] The assignment earned an A and she performed her song in front of classmates. She approached a Melbourne record company and was told that they wanted more than one song.^[4] She wrote more songs and worked with the Kool Skools project, which enables students to record music.^[7] In 2001, Nicola entered "All for Believing" on Higgins' behalf into Unearthed, radio station Triple J's competition for unsigned artists. The song won the competition and was added to the station's play list.^[8] Two record companies showed an interest in Higgins—Sony and Eleven.^[4] She signed with Eleven, partly because they agreed that she would not be "made into a pop star"^[9] and partly because they were happy for her to take time off for backpacking.^[4] Her manager is Eleven's John Watson, who also manages rock band Silverchair.^[1] He later said "Missy's the only time in my career I knew after 90 seconds I really wanted to sign her."^[10] The backpacking trip had been planned with a friend for years and they spent most of 2002 in Europe; while she was travelling, "All for Believing" started to be played by Los Angeles radio station KCRW.^[11] This brought attention from US record labels and, by year's end, an international recording deal with Warner Bros.^[12]

[edit] 2003–2005: The Sound of White

Higgins, San Francisco, United States, 11 August 2005
Courtesy Nabeel Hyatt

Higgins was the support act on a 2003 Australian tour by folk rock band The Waifs and rock band george.^[12] She travelled to the US to work with producer, John Porter, and recorded her first extended play (EP) entitled Missy Higgins,^[13] which was released in November and entered the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart Top 50 in August 2004.^[14]

She toured Australia, supporting both Pete Murray and The John Butler Trio.^[15] Her second four-track EP Scar was released in July.^[16] The title track "Scar", co-written with US songwriter, Kevin Griffin, debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Charts.^[14][17] Her first album, The Sound of White, was released in September, and debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.^[14] Also produced by Porter, it sold over 500,000 copies.^[18] She was nominated in five categories at the ARIA Music Awards of 2004 for "Scar": Best Female Artist', 'Single of the Year', 'Best Pop Release', 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' and 'Best Video' (directed by Squareyed Films).^[19] At the awards ceremony on 17 October she received the award for Best Pop Release, beating Delta Goodrem, The Dissociatives, Kylie Minogue and Pete Murray.^[19] This was followed by her first national headline tour.^[20] Her second single "Ten Days" was co-written with Jay Clifford (guitarist in US band Jump, Little Children) and was inspired by Higgins' 2002 break-up with her boyfriend before she travelled to Europe.^[21] Released in November, it peaked at No. 12.^[14]

On 29 January 2005 Higgins performed with other local musicians including Nick Cave and Powderfinger at the WaveAid fundraising concert in the Sydney Cricket Ground.^[22] The concert raised A$2.3 million for four charities supporting the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.^[23] In March Higgins performed at the MTV Australia Awards and won the prize for 'Breakthrough Artist of the Year'.^[24] The following month she released her third single, "The Special Two", which was a radio hit and reached No. 2.^[14] "The Special Two" was released on an EP which included her cover of the Skyhooks song, "You Just Like Me Cos I'm Good In Bed", recorded for Triple J's 30th anniversary. The song had been the first track played on Triple J when it launched (as Double J) in 1975.^[25] In May, Higgins won the 'Song of the Year' and 'Breakthrough' awards for "Scar" from the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).^[26] She continued touring in mid-2005 and released her fourth single, "The Sound of White", in August.^[14] In September she played a sold out performance at the Vanguard in Sydney with the proceeds going to One in Five, her sponsored mental health charity.^[27] She was nominated for seven more ARIAs and in October won 'Album of the Year', 'Best Pop Release', 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' and 'Highest Selling Album' (all for The Sound of White) and 'Best Female Artist' (for "Scar").^[28] She teamed up with fellow ARIA award-winning singer Ben Lee in late 2005 for a national tour.^[29]

[edit] 2006–2009: On a Clear Night

Higgins, Live Earth concert, Sydney, 7 July 2007
Courtesy Itapp

During 2006, Higgins lived in Broome, Western Australia for six months, away from the entertainment industry. The relaxed lifestyle helped her focus on writing new material.^[30] The landscape made a big impression, "It was the first place I'd ever felt honestly connected with my country, with the physical land of my country" and inspired her to write "Going North".^[31] She then toured the United States and South Africa, writing more material on the road.^[32] In September she based herself in Los Angeles to record her second album, On a Clear Night, with producer Mitchell Froom.^[33][34] "Steer" was released as an EP, followed a fortnight later by its album on 28 April 2007, both debuted at No. 1 on their respective charts.^[14]

In February, Higgins had contributed a tribute song to the album, Cannot Buy My Soul, for noted indigenous singer, Kev Carmody, singing "Droving Woman" with musician Paul Kelly and group Augie March.^[35] On 7 July, she participated in the Live Earth concert in Sydney, performing her own set before joining Carmody, Kelly and vocalist John Butler on stage for the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow".^[36] Emily Dunn in The Sydney Morning Herald wrote "[the song] could have been the event's anthem".^[37] Rolling Stone's Dan Lander pointed out a highlight, when the "whole crowd sung along – all eleven verses."^[38]

Higgins returned to Los Angeles to focus on the US market—she spent September and October touring—where she was still relatively unknown.^[39] On 26 October, backed by the Sydney Youth Orchestra, she headlined the annual Legs 11 concert, a breast cancer benefit held in The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.^[40] Two days later Higgins performed at the 2007 ARIAs where she was nominated for 'Best Pop Release', 'Highest Selling Album' and 'Highest Selling Single' (for "Steer") and won 'Best Female Artist' (for On a Clear Night)—her seventh ARIA Music Award.^[41] On 31 October, she was a guest at television music channel MAX's inaugural Concert for the Cure, a private concert for people affected by breast cancer. She sang headline act Powderfinger's "Sunsets" with front man Bernard Fanning and joined in with the encore of "These Days".^[42][43] She spent November and December on her For One Night Only Tour, taking in Cairns, Sydney and Perth. You Am I lead singer, Tim Rogers, joined her on some shows.^[44]

On a Clear Night, was released in the US on 26 February 2008, supported by a tour in March. Her ten-month stay in Los Angeles during 2008 promoted her songs for films and television shows.^[33][45] Her first US single "Where I Stood" was featured in US series including Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill and So You Think You Can Dance.^[46] During 2008, Higgins supported the Indigo Girls and then Ben Folds on their respective US tours.^[47] February and March 2009 saw her co-headlining a US tour with Canadian Justin Nozuka.^[48] On 31 March she released an EP, More Than This in Australia featuring cover versions of "More Than This" by Roxy Music, "(I'm) In Love Again" by Peggy Lee, "Breakdown" by Tom Petty and "Moses" by Patty Griffin.^[49] "Moses" had been included on Triple J's 2005 compilation album Like a Version: Volume One and "More Than This" was recorded as part of Covered, A Revolution in Sound, a Warner Bros. tribute album also released in March 2009.^[50]

[edit] 2010–present: The Ol' Razzle Dazzle

Higgins started writing music for her third album in 2009.^[51] After about seven years of touring and recording she took a break from the music industry to pursue other interests.^[52] In 2010 she enrolled in a course in indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne.^[53] Her acting debut was as Annie in 2010 film Bran Nue Dae directed by Rachel Perkins. The film is an adaptation of the 1990 musical, Bran Nue Dae, "Australia's first Aboriginal musical".^[54] Although Higgins would consider future acting projects she has no plans to actively pursue it as a career.^[51][55]

In July and August 2010, Higgins played several dates of Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour in the US.^[56][57] At Lilith Fair, she met Australian musician Butterfly Boucher and they decided to work together. In 2011, Higgins travelled to where Boucher was living in Nashville to record her third album, which is co-produced by Boucher and Brad Jones.^[58] Titled The Ol' Razzle Dazzle, the album is due for release on 1 June 2012.^[59] Its first single, "Unashamed Desire", co-written with Boucher, was released on 23 April.^[60] In November 2011, at the ARIA Music Awards, Higgins performed a duet with Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu.^[61]

Personal life[link]

As a vegetarian, Higgins promoted the health benefits of not eating meat in a 2005 advertising campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA);^[62] and has supported their anti-fur stance.^[45] She is interested in environmental issues and is involved with the Sierra Club, a grassroots organisation based in California.^[45] She has protested against the proposed industrialisation of the Kimberley region of Western Australia and donated the royalties from her 2009 EP More Than This.^[49] Since early 2007, Higgins has tried to make her tours carbon neutral, she purchases green energy to power venues, uses hybrid cars where possible and purchases carbon offsets.^[63]

From 2004 to 2007, Higgins' sexual orientation was the subject of media speculation based partly on interpretations of her lyrics and her interviews.^[A] In an October 2007 interview with Australian lesbian magazine Cherrie, she was asked if she fell under the moniker of "not-so-straight" girls. She replied "Um, yeah, definitely. ... I think sexuality is a fluid thing and it's becoming increasingly more acceptable to admit that you're that way."^[64] In November her MySpace page reported, "I’ve been in relationships with both men and women so I guess I fall most easily under the category 'Bisexual'".^[65] She went on to say that she wanted future interviews to focus on her music rather than her sexuality. In a March 2008 interview with AfterEllen.com, Higgins said that her song "Secret" was written about an ex-girlfriend who was not comfortable, at first, about going public with their relationship; "I was so head over heels in love with her I kind of wanted to shout it out to the world, so it was just a song about keeping something under the covers ... keeping it away locked in a little room."^[66]

Higgins has been a patron of Australian mental health charity One in Five since 2003.^[67] She described her younger self as "a bit of a depressed child" and "introverted", and that she had "experienced various degrees of depression".^[13][68] Prescribed antidepressant medication while in high school, she learned to channel low moods into song writing, calling music her "emotional outlet".^[2][69] In a 2006 interview she said that her songs were "coming from more of a happier place".^[70] While recording her second album she discovered a passion for rock climbing, as a "meditative pursuit"^[71] and that, "It's the first thing I've had—other than music—that I'm passionate about."^[69]

Musical influences and technique[link]

Higgins grew up in the 1980s and 1990s listening to artists that her older siblings liked—Nicola played Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, while David favoured Queen and Kiss.^[69][72] Departing for boarding school at age 13, she was exposed to alternative artists like Nirvana and Courtney Love and started teaching herself guitar and writing her own music.^[72] She also began singing with David's jazz group on weekends. As an adult she prefers Nina Simone and Ray Charles to "poppy dance music".^[72] She has cited Patty Griffin, Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainwright, Paul Kelly and Sarah McLachlan as influences.^[4][51][73] Material from her yet-to-be-released third album is influenced by ambient music from Low, Jon Hopkins, Icelandic band Sigur Rós and Estonian classical composer Arvo Pärt.^[51]

Higgins' song writing grew out of a desire to express her emotions when she was at school and her lyrics describe her feelings about her own life and relationships.^[74][75] The piano was the first instrument she learned to play, and she continues to use it as well as digital pianos including a Roland RD-300SX, RD-700 and KR-15.^[76][77] She also uses guitars extensively in her music particularly when touring, due to their portable nature and favours the Australian brand, Maton.^[77] On occasion she plays xylophone and melodica during performances.^[31][78]

Discography[link]

	Book: Missy Higgins
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• 2004: The Sound of White
• 2007: On a Clear Night
• 2012: The Ol' Razzle Dazzle

Filmography[link]

• 2010: Bran Nue Dae as Annie

Awards[link]

Higgins has won seven ARIA Music Awards from nineteen nominations.^[79] She has won two APRA Awards for songwriting and an MTV Australia Video Music Award.^[24][26]

• 2004 ARIA Awards, Best Pop Release for "Scar"
• 2005 MTV Australia Video Music Awards, Breakthrough Artist of the Year
• 2005 APRA Awards, Breakthrough Award for "Scar"
• 2005 APRA Awards, Song of the Year for "Scar"
• 2005 ARIA Awards, Breakthrough Artist – Album for The Sound of White
• 2005 ARIA Awards, Best Pop Release for The Sound of White
• 2005 ARIA Awards, Highest Selling Album for The Sound of White
• 2005 ARIA Awards, Best Female Artist for The Sound of White
• 2005 ARIA Awards, Album of the Year for The Sound of White
• 2007 ARIA Awards, Best Female Artist for On a Clear Night

Notes[link]

References[link]